This is the point. They needed 230 more regardless. And until they wake up to that winning constantly is a pipe dream.

If SA's first innings versus India lasts just 10 more overs, it will have persisted for the same number of overs (140) as the entire 1st Ashes Test in Perth.

The other real problem with Eng being thrashed, is I will now have to avoid all social media as it will be full of gloating Aussie cricket accounts. I may actually have to do some work instead. 😭😬

Hey Stokes, got another one of those spells that haul England back into the match in you? #ashes

I think it is a good move from Aus to send out Travis to open. Not good for England.

Also with the day night test coming up... It is not going to get any easier for Zac.

England have properly mucked this up with the bat here. We needed a to set a minimum of a 250 target.

Right prediction time. I mean, because it is easy to guess what will happen tomorrow right... Aus last wicket to score about 20 infuriating runs. Crawley to get out early again, Pope is going to need to bat really nicely. Eng need a batter to score a ton. Can Eng bat for a whole day? Please.

Cricket Starter Packs are now live. Part 1 - the original go.bsky.app/Uq6tVD6 Part 2 - the follow-on go.bsky.app/12FSHyh You don't have to be a member to follow

Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist

This research is important because it corroborates what we already knew - that when comparing the UK to peer economies, it has had a big slowdown since 2016. It does so with firm-level data and finds more EU-connected firms have sizeable shortfalls in productivity and investment compared to less.

Key takeaways from day one then. 1. Bazball 2.0, no that isn't a thing with the bat. We are still in version 1.0. 2. The reliance on runs from Joe Root for England is still very much there. 3. Starc is still a very good bowler. The other Aussie bowlers were nervous.

Mental first day.

Pretty cunning of Australia to trick Stokes into bowling a six-over spell. Yes, five wickets. But how much wear and tear on the notoriously injury-prone England captain? Playing the long game. England reeling. #Ashes 🏏

Solid call this now. 😲

Well this is chaos in Perth. Brilliant fight back from the England bowlers. Can we get into the tail before the close? Is it time for some Stokes?

They didn’t bounce out England’s lower order. They bowled about twenty short balls that England tried to smash and lost five wickets #theashes

Should we have some predictions for tonight's play then? I mean how bad could it be?

The other question is do I buy a tnt sports subscription for a short period of time?

This is about right. There is no middle ground. I tried to listen to a couple of Aussie podcasts and they all say it will be 3-1 Aus. Eng really need to win in Perth. Also no team has won a test in the new Perth ground bowling first.

It is going to be interesting to see how Aus react to having 2 of the big three out. Muddled thinking could involve Beau Webster playing as a spin/seam all rounder and Lyon not playing. Ultimately they will have to play a debutant bowler and a debutant opener. Aus will still be very strong though.

Test cricket is back with a bang this morning. Bumrah has mopped up the world test champions this morning as if they weren't even there.

Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round

How had I missed the fact the New Zealand Basketball team are know as the Tall Blacks?

If you get some time, please listen to the Jonathan Trott interview in the "for the love of cricket" podcast. It is wonderful. Also he used to shine his box. Which is an epic superstition.

Stuart Broad's retirement is not going as well as planned.

Congratulations to Simon Harmer. 1000 wickets is a brilliant achievement.

Unbelievable tail wagging from SA. 235-8 goes to 404ao. Runs for Maharaj and Rabada, supported by Muthusamy (not someone I know anything about). Puts a different complexion on the match now.

What's happened to Alyssa Healy's keeping? She's never been the tidiest, but you don't usually notice her. She's been really scrappy the last few games.

Just a quick thought. Sophie Power is a truly extraordinary human being. Her book will be worth a read. I note a slight conflict in that I coach her son hockey and have met her a few times. She once helped out at a training session and helped with some fitness work.

The Pak Vs SA test in Lahore is going to be an absolute nail biter tomorrow.

New post just out: The relationship between Russia and the European radical right goes well beyond Reform's Nathan Gill being bribed. In this post I trace the history back to the 1990s and look at the threat it poses now. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/r...

Aussies had no right to get that score. They will likely win by 100 runs now. Devastating for Pakistan.

Aus have enough runs now. Amazing fight back.

Pakistan may have taken four Australian wickets but they need to take at least fifteen more before they reach the tail. #TheCricket

Cricket can be a game of small margins. Could be a bit of a positive sliding door moment for Peake this. He is very talented.

Gonna be some random tariffs on Ireland tomorrow

Two thoughts on the England ashes squad. 1. Bethall will be number 3 and Pope the spare batter as shown be Brook as VC. 2. Jacks as the spare spinner is the right call. He is taller and bowls into the pitch more than Rehan. Plus the pitches in Aus will be pace friendly and the spinners redundant.

It's going to rain and rain hard.

To be fair, he failed half the balls so arguably left runs out there. 😲😲😲😂😂😂😂

Solid toss to loose this evening

Even as a relatively partisan Surrey fan, my view is that 5 wins and 6 draws should put you ahead of 4 wins and 8 draws. Surrey play Notts next week and a rather large game... Also they will be without Dom Sibley I suspect 😲😬

Other than the mad Schedule. If you want Jordan Cox and Sam Curran in the team, who are you dropping?! This is a decent looking group.

This schedule is nuts, that top 4 have played an insane series against India, then the 100 and a day later they are playing an ODI.

It would help bat longevity if the Asian firm stopped massively over drying their bats.

Well played Tommy Fleetwood. ⛳🏌️‍♂️

Popped into Lords. I know the evil 100. But needs must. First observation is the quality of the fielding and bowling is materially better than I have seen previously.

I’m pretty sure Pat Butcher wore that fireplace.

Will likely be doing another end of season cricket kit bargains thread when the sales start. But in advance of this check these out from H4L cricket (my current favourite) www.h4l.co.uk/products/eli...

Some serious hitting going on by Brevis here.